Full Transcript for Celebrating an iconic duo: Mike Krukow's final games, Duane Kuiper's health are the focus in season's final week

it, including back when he got diagnosed. Mike said when he first went into the ALS center in San Francisco, there were maybe a dozen men there. And he thought, well, half are here probably for ALS, half are here for MS. I'm one of these guys. I got one or the other. Well, it turns out he has body inclusion myositis. And I think everybody's kind of familiar with that now. It's a little more unusual now. but affects the sort of the larger muscles, but now it's getting into his hands. And what struck me most going up to Reno, Mike is such a wonderful musician. He loves music. He's got all these musical, gorgeous musical instruments all over his house. He mostly plays the strings and the drums and he can't play his guitars. He can't play his banjos. He can't play the bazookas he has or the cello. I mean, I, gosh, I was like, wow, you can play the cello. and they're all too heavy for him. So he can still play the mandolin. He played us Free Fallin', Tom Petty's Free Fallin'. It was amazing on the mandolin. We were pretty blown away by that. He can play the ukulele, and he's got some harmonicas, and he can play the drums, like hand drums. But his fingers are not what they were. And that's tough to see, too. So you understand why he's stepping away. He still very much wants to come back. As he can in future years, it's just got to be a safe situation because the one thing he has to avoid is falling. Of course, important for anyone as they get older to avoid falling. But with something like body inclusion myositis, he really has to be extra careful. He has a motorized wheelchair he uses at home. You would never even think like he just does everything. You wouldn't think that anything is possible. he's really being impeded at all. Again, he's just so graceful in everything he does. So it was kind of eyeopening, but mostly it was fun and funny. And these stories, you can say anything to Mike Kruko and the story about whatever it is, or he has interesting thoughts or he knows something about it. He's just brilliant and he's hilarious and warm. And his wife, Jennifer is phenomenal. She's just amazing. So, I understand now why they are kind of going to mostly be at home, but I know we would all, all, all, all love to see and especially hear them as often as possible. If they can figure out a way to do it safely, be it a home studio, if somehow NBC Sports Bay Area can figure something out to do, do that, or find a safe way to get in to the Bay Area and doing some broadcasts, maybe once or twice a year or something. 00:06:04 Speaker 1: Yeah. I'm glad you brought up the musical side of the group in that story. Because that's an important side of him that a lot of people don't know much about or know nothing about. And he told me once that he taught all of his five kids to play guitar, banjo, and ukulele, I believe. 00:06:22 Speaker 3: Yes. 00:06:23 Speaker 1: And so it's a huge musical family. This is like the Partridge family or something like that. And one of

his sons, Wes, is a superstar in dance and theater and so forth. So there's so much there. It's just really touching. I'm glad you We hadn't got a chance to spend some time with him and bring it home to the readers. That was cool. Yeah. 00:06:41 Speaker 2: Yeah, Tessa, his daughter Tessa has also got an amazing voice. She's sung the national anthem at the ballpark a few times. And I've heard her, wow, powerhouse voice. So, yeah, music is, and I am a music lover. I am a terrible guitar player myself, but I do play. So I was admiring all his guitars. And I think he's talked me into maybe moving on to the banjo, too. 00:07:04 Speaker 1: Really? 00:07:04 Speaker 3: Yeah. 00:07:05 Speaker 2: Yeah, open-back banjos. They're all so cool. All these instruments are really just amazing. So I was admiring all the drums. I might pick up a couple different instruments now. I'm inspired by Mike Kruko. I'm not kidding. Well, if you're going to do the banjo, check out the Avett Brothers. I'm sure you have. 00:07:24 Speaker 1: Oh, yeah. Very good use of banjo. I encourage you. 00:07:28 Speaker 2: And Killian. I want you to do the national. 00:07:30 Speaker 1: Anthem before a ballgame on a banjo. Oh my gosh. 00:07:36 Speaker 2: No, only good people get to do stuff like that. 00:07:38 Speaker 1: No. Yeah. 00:07:38 Speaker 2: Our friend Ann Killian is huge into the Avett brothers. So I am very familiar. So Scotty, like you've been a Bay Area media legend yourself for a long time. What's their legacy? You know, this, this is the, you know, the full-time act comes to an end. Again, we, we really hope that there is, you know, they're reunited occasionally, but this is the full time Crook and Kipe is going away. 00:08:07 Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, for one thing, baseball is the ultimate announcer sport because of the dead time. I know there's less dead time now because of the pitch clock and stuff. So it's a little bit tougher on the storytellers, but there's no sport that lends itself to announcers kind of kicking back and being right in your living room. Like almost like they're sitting on the couch with you, having a beer with you. And nobody does that better than Crook and Kipe. They're just, Amazing chemistry. Usually in a broadcast team, there's a former player and then a longtime broadcast announcer. In this, we've got two former players, and just the chemistry has worked fantastically right from the beginning. You just have this. With baseball, if you listen to baseball on the radio, you've got to have announcers that make you feel good, make you feel at home, and make you feel comfortable. And those guys do that, and they bring so much extra to the game. You know, the humor. They're not like a comedy team, but they have great moments of little interaction and stuff like that. They're storytellers. They're the storytellers of the game. And baseball absolutely lives and dies on storytellers. And nobody does it better than these guys. It's just sad to think that it's

not going to be quite the same going forward. That's really bad. There's certain guys that are certain people that are treasures to the game. going back to guys like Bill Rigney and, and, you know, the, the people that, that bring the game to life. And, uh, and these two guys did it and they're still doing it right until the final weekend. 00:09:42 Speaker 2: Yeah. There has always been a movement. Well, certainly here in the last maybe eight to 10 years to get cook and kite considered, uh, by the baseball hall of fame to go in together. 00:09:52 Speaker 1: Yeah. 00:09:52 Speaker 2: And the hall of fame has resisted that. I'm I, I know the hall of fame really likes to do things their way. When I say the Hall of Fame, I say this is mostly the family that controls the Hall of Fame. Jane Forbes Clark is sort of the leading member who's sort of the head of various different boards. I think they want to stay conservative and not set a precedent where suddenly every broadcaster goes like, why not me and my partner? Because you did it with Crook and Kipe. I think that this does, they're so unique. They were teammates too. Like this isn't a partnership that you find elsewhere. They're so synonymous with each other. They're so special. They've both obviously gone through so much physically. And, you know, of course, Dwayne lost his wife, Michelle, a few years ago. And just really, they've just been through the ringer and they're amazing. Like they're legends physically. but they're legends across the country. Everyone knows kook and kite, wherever you go. And they're impossible not to like and revere. I think that this is the time for the Hall of Fame to reconsider this. This is a. 00:11:02 Speaker 1: Good time to find out. This is kind of a heart check for the Hall of Fame. We'll find out if they can set aside the hard rules and maybe make an exception. But I'll say this, and I'm all for the Hall of Fame. I've never been there, but I know it's a wonderful place, it's cool, and it's a great honor to be inducted and all that stuff. But, and I've said this before in the days when guys like Bill King and stuff were up for these awards, and sometimes they made it, sometimes they didn't. And I'll say this, if Crook and Cut don't make the Hall of Fame, I think most of us would agree they're in the Hall of Fame. They're in our Hall of Fame, so can't take that away from us. It'd be nice to have the extra honor, but I'm not going to stress or obsess over that. And I don't think they are. I think they would love to get in. I think it would be a tremendous honor. And I think they would understand and be completely cool if they didn't get in. 00:11:56 Speaker 2: This sums them up. Every time one of them is on the ballot and the other one isn't, and I wind up calling the one who is, or the one who is, they both say like, I really just want, Kruko always says, I want Kuiper to get in. I don't care about me. And Kuiper always says, I want Kruko to get in. I don't care about me. And they mean it. This is not. 00:12:18 Speaker 1: Exactly. They mean it. 00:12:19 Speaker 2: They a hundred percent mean it. I want the hall to do the absolute best, best thing ever. Like the most positive thing ever. And put these two in together. Um, And I mean, it would just be the most joyous, wonderful celebration. And I think the time is now. Just do it. 00:12:39 Speaker 1: Do it. And it's not the United States Constitution we're thinking about changing. The rules the family has are one niche of the Hall of Fame. So come on, loosen that baseball. 00:12:50 Speaker 2: Such a huge possibility. 00:12:52 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. 00:12:53 Speaker 2: Well, so, you know, as you might imagine going and spending the day with Mike Krukow, it's just like, as I mentioned, like you bring up anything and he'll go. Um, and we had all these crazy, like veered off into conversations about magpies and squirrels and, uh, you know, it just, in history, like you name it, he'll talk about it. But we talked about the 1985 giants, which of course was the only giants team to have lost a hundred games. This year's team will not. That's already been settled. But certainly there were concerns they might. So we wound up talking about and this I have a story about this, too. This is also online. Mike Krukow talking about the 1985 team and kind of what they learned and applying that a little bit to this year's team. Because that 85 team, two years later, they were in the playoffs, the Giants, which is extraordinary. Two years after Hunter last season. they improved by 21 games the next year. Now, some of that was Will Clark was there. Robbie Thompson was there. They improved their defense a ton. They got some hitting. And then by the next year, they're. 00:14:01 Speaker 1: Really- Kruk won 20 games that year. 00:14:04 Speaker 2: And yeah, in 86, Mike Kruk won 20 games. So pretty outstanding. But Kruk is really seeing a lot of positives with this year's team. And I think he feels like What we're seeing, especially here late in the season with all the young kids, and we'll talk a little bit more about that after we have a bit of a break. We'll move on from the broadcast portion of this to the team portion. But Kruka really thinks that some of these positives are going to help improve the team. Now, are they going to improve 21 games next year, like the 1986 Giants did? That would be a tall order. But I think they certainly are going to make some big strides with with some of the young guys that we've seen and Kruko is, he raved about loads, loads of the guy, like any of the young guys you could think, um, Kruko is kind of all on board. We spent a long time. He watched Marcelo Meyer take batting practice one day, raving about him. So, uh, and, and he loves Tony Vitello. He thinks Tony is really, you know, starting to press the right buttons and, uh, has the right attitude. And now that he's established himself, you know, he said he was concerned that maybe some of

the older players, some of the veterans weren't quite listening, maybe as well as they could. Maybe he wasn't taking quite as much of a firm hand. He thinks that that's that's all changing now. Plus, those guys aren't around like none of them around. They're all, you know, Jungkook Lee is the only one who's active still. And, you know, next year, I think this is much more Tony's team. 00:15:37 Speaker 1: Yeah. Now, Kruko, as we know, he tends to wax positive about the Giants. Yes. I'm not saying he's a house guy or anything. He loves the Giants, and we know that, and that's fine. And he's a very positive guy. But I think in this case, there might be something to that. You know, if this team comes back next year or whenever they come back, it's going to be... We're going to see some new guys. We're going to see some new talent there, whether it's Jonah Cox or three or four of these guys probably very soon. 00:16:07 Speaker 3: And. 00:16:08 Speaker 1: And part of whatever they do, there's going to have to be a spirit involved. They're going to have to bring a new life and a new spirit to the ballpark. And I think that's what Kruko sees and is talking about. But anyway, let's take a break for a commercial and then come back and talk about the wonderful last weekend in Los Angeles with the Giants. So Jay, do you ever find yourself crashing in the afternoon, needing a boost, but not wanting to have caffeine that you know is going to ruin your sleep? Oh yeah, definitely. 00:16:39 Speaker 3: Uh, found myself on the golf course a lot lately and, uh, sometimes, you know, it can be long days out there. So I reach in my golf bag. I keep the ultra focus pouch right here with me, keep it in my golf bag. And, um, it's part of my, my golf bag, as I said. 00:16:53 Speaker 1: Yeah. 00:16:53 Speaker 3: And so where's some of your favorite effects of the ultra pouches? Uh, definitely, you know, gives me a little bit of focus, uh, that little bit of energy that I'm looking for. And, uh, Obviously, not having any caffeine in it is always a plus for me, so I enjoy those things. Ultra is the ultimate guilt-free pouch, delivering instant focus and mental clarity without nicotine or caffeine. New customers can use code BASEBALL to get 15% off at TakeUltra.com. That's TakeUltra.com for 15% off with code BASEBALL. After you purchase, they will ask you where you heard about them. Please support our show and tell them our show sent you. 00:17:30 Speaker 1: All right, we're back, and let's talk a little bit about this last weekend, Susan. Three games in Los Angeles, and, you know, at a beautiful ballpark. The weather apparently was great. Everything was, all the young kids are ready to fire up to the Giants. And the Dodgers sweep them three games. And I was looking at the cumulative score was 21-7, and the Dodgers out-hit them 37-15. And it was kind of like the varsity against the JV, which you expect, you know? You lose your power-hitting first baseman, and you lose your regular right fielder, the two guys with experience, and you walk into the Dodgers, and the Dodgers are still fighting for something. They still want to lock down that second spot where they get a free pass in the opening of the playoffs. And so they're ready to rip. They want to go into the postseason in full gear, but that was kind of a thorough beat down, even though they were in a couple of the games for a while, but just, uh, how to look to you. 00:18:35 Speaker 2: Well, yeah, you know, the Phillip Abner game got, uh, a little out of, out of hand and I understand why, you know, you kind of, uh, first of all, some of it was boom, boom, boom. You can't even get somebody up that fast. Uh, and then at some point you just, you're just going to like save your bowl, start saving your bullpen somewhere in there. You've got to make that little, uh, you know, kind of mental equation. Do I just now leave him out here? And apparently that's, that was, you know, it happens again that, you know, the Giants aren't at this point in contention, obviously. So it turned a little ugly as these things can do still, still lots to like, you know, the base running and the energy that didn't seem like it ever diminished, but Logan Webb is now on the aisle, which I think is a, it was a very good decision. I think, right. shutting him down. You know, they said blister, shutting him down the rest of the way just makes sense to me. I know he didn't want to. There's no chance Logan Webb wanted to go on the aisle or be shut down. But this is this was a wise course of action. Very long season pitched in the WBC, you know, ramped up for the WBC. That makes it even longer. And he just hasn't quite looked right, you know, the last few weeks. So I think kudos to the Giants. But this means Jung-Hoo Lee is really the only guy, the only regular who's around right now at all. And, you know, he hadn't played really a full season. I'm glad that he has, you know, really kind of come on, shown what he can do in the big leagues. But right now, the guys who are looking kind of like the, the veterans on this team besides Jung-Hoo Lee, like Bryce Eldridge has been here since May. Drew Kilbert's been here since, you know, late April. It's like, wow, these are, these are the older guys. They're so young. So you just kind of toss that aside. Now the Dodgers come in for the final series of the season. I don't think the Giants want to be swept at home final series of the season. I think it will be important for them to, you know, certainly try to take that series. Absolutely avoid being swept and, But they don't have a lot of their regular pieces. So, you know, they're at a huge disadvantage against a team that's trying to be on a roll going into the postseason and has nothing but seasoned, especially hitters, and has, you know, for the most part, played very well this year. It's the Dodgers. What are you going to do? And they certainly don't want to get, you know, drop a series at the end of

the year to the Giants who struggled that year. 00:21:04 Speaker 1: Yeah, it could be grim coming back. And I see that Shohei Itani– is coming back for the Dodgers next series. So it's likely he'll be ready to go and in action, and he's going to want to get tuned up for the playoffs. So he'll be a factor. And also Andy Paz, their center fielder, I guess, coming back. So the team that just swept the Giants has just got a lot stronger. And so it'll be very interesting because you're right. It's totally meaningless in some ways for the Giants, but going into what could be a really long offseason, And you just don't want to go in and say, oh, yeah, we closed out that season by losing six to the Dodgers in the last week. So that's going to be vital. But like I said, ready to go. Like yesterday, Jonah Cox leads off with a walk, and then he gets on second base, steals third, making stuff happen. When was the last time you've seen a disruptor on the base pass like that for the Giants? 00:22:01 Speaker 2: Yeah, he's been pretty consistent with this, which we love. You know, all these guys have been running so much more even– Jung-Hoo Lee looks much more comfortable running the bases and stealing bases. And I think that's going to be a calling card for the Giants next year, assuming they have much of the same personnel, which I believe they will. But yet another weird head injury, as we see there. Bryce Eldridge bangs his head at the hotel. He is very, very tall. Sometimes, I guess, it's avoidable when you're... What is he, 6'7? I mean, so... But he's essentially, it sounds like, almost in the concussion protocol. So I think we might be seeing Marcelo Meyer today. I don't know if Eldridge gets shut down. The concussion list is kind of just a very brief one anyway, if they decide they want to do that. But I think we could finally be seeing Marcelo Meyer, which would be very exciting. 00:22:54 Speaker 1: Also coming in from the Giants, Dodgers-Giants finale, I think Tugboat will tenderly be penciled in for a start there, right? Unless I know, I always have to talk about Tugboat, but that was pretty impressive. That was a pretty impressive outing against the Dodgers. You know, shutting down people like, he's the only guy that could stop Mookie Betts, for instance. So, that's a horrible mismatch. You know, Mookie against Tugboat. And, you know, if I'm a betting guy, I've got to run out and put some money on Mookie on that. But, you know, he pops him up. So, I don't know. Tugboat, he just looks like he more and more like he belongs. I know it's only what five appearances now, but each time out, he seems to get a little more confident and, and just, uh, I don't think he's penciled in as the ace for next season or whenever, but, uh, you know, he could be working his way into some consideration for rotation spot. 00:23:51 Speaker 2: I just love that you love to boot so much. And I feel like I need to get you a tugboat Jersey or again, I'm going to, I'm going to say if anybody knows any sort of, I don't know if these things exist, tugboat companies that want to sponsor this segment. I feel as if at this point we need a tugboat sponsor. 00:24:07 Speaker 1: I actually suggested to Larry Bear a week or so. I said, next time he pitches, why don't you hire a tugboat and have it cruise into the boat? And I never heard back from Larry. I guess he's not taking any lame suggestions from guys like me. But another positive pitching development is Jackson Flora. You know, they sent him to double A and they gave him a start there and he pitched two innings and it was lights out. I just saw a little snippet on YouTube or whatever. And man, you know, I know it's a tiny sample size, but pretty impressive. 00:24:45 Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm really starting to think that he's got a shot to be up next year. I was thinking more toward the end of the year. but he will be in big league spring whenever that is. I feel like we always have to put like an asterisk with anything related to spring or the start of the season, since we don't really know what will be happening with the labor agreement. I don't think it will be good. So probably we'll be delayed at least somewhat, but he will get an invite whenever that happens. And I think there's an outside shot. I mean, I, if he, if he's lights out potentially they could, I think it would be much like with Bryce and, send him down for the first month. Anyway, see how he does get his feet wet. And if he really shows he belongs at a higher level, he's going to move fast. And once, once you get to triple a, or even as we've seen this year, double a, you could get called pretty quickly. I think we'll see him in sooner than later next year. 00:25:41 Speaker 1: Yeah. I think we can make the case that it's a little bit easier for a pitcher to make that jump than for a hitter. Cause I think the, Baseball people will tell you that you just got to, if you're a hitter, there's nothing to replace that three or four years experience in the minor leagues. Where with a pitcher, you know, maybe the guy's ready. He's kind of a phenom. And he looks very confident. And, you know, I think you talked to him when he made his brief appearance at the Giants ballpark after he signed and seems really, really mature and confident and everything. So that goes well for the whole deal. 00:26:19 Speaker 2: Yeah, he's very similar to Bryce Eldridge in that respect. Very smooth, very sharp. Just seems, you know, like he like he's been around the game for well, he has been around the game for a long time, but he seems like he's been a pro for a long time in the way that Bryce Eldridge does. So, yeah, I don't nothing would surprise me next year with Jackson Flora, which would be delightful because he's homegrown, you know. Pleasanton kid and grew up a Giants fan. That always adds like a little extra, I think, for everybody to know somebody's from your area and grew up rooting for that same team. Now, I'm excited in the

way that you are about tugboat. I'm excited about Marcelo Meyer. This kid was one of the top, if not on occasions, a top prospect in baseball. And he's 23. He's been compared previously. to Crawford, speaking of, of Brandon Crawford, same type of body, big rangy shortstop can play all over the infield. Um, you know, and also kind of, he's got the hair, he's very, very California and things that kind of got a big story. Uh, I think that we'll be up later today on Marcelo Meyer. I talked to him, I talked to his dad, I talked to people in Boston about him. Uh, he, he really is an absolutely special talent, but things had just gone south in Boston to the extent that he got rid of his social media accounts. He was getting threats. He said, even just standing on the on-deck circle at home games, he was getting shredded by Boston fans. So nobody, I think, has been happier about a trade, certainly maybe this year at least, than Marcelo Meyer. I think he was, he shut up saying, I was thrilled by this. I think he was really happy to get home to California. He's from San Diego. just a very much West Coast vibe guy. But also I think just in Boston, his dad said like, when you're going well in Boston, you're a God. When you're not going well, like it's, you know, it's tough. It is really tough. And he had to deal with that. And just the pressures, like, look, I know later round picks are going to go like, oh, boo-hoo, you were a top draft pick. But the expectations and the pressure that come with it, especially when you're a guy who has been unable to stay healthy, I think that really starts to weigh on you. So let's see what he can do healthy. I think that's going to be really fun and important for next year because they have some decisions to make in the infield. And if they decide at some point to move Willie Adamas over to second after a really pretty bad defensive year, this is the guy who would be your shortstop, it looks like. 00:28:59 Speaker 1: Yeah. And it looks like it'll be fun to see what he does if he gets in there in the last six games. Because, again, a lot of this is kind of cosmetic. It's a very small sample size. But it would be nice if you could see him get in there and show some stuff and show some promise and kind of get everyone fired up. Get himself fired up. You know, give himself some confidence. I'm sure his confidence is down, too. So that makes the next three games in Minnesota against Minnesota at home makes them kind of meaningful in a lot of ways. You know, interesting final. You know, it should be. should be six games that nobody gives a damn about, but, um, kind of a lot of writing on it. If you care about the Giants, if you're interested in the Giants, it seems to me like it would be a really interesting wrap-up. They certainly don't want to go another 0-6, leaving them with a 10-game losing streak or something like that to close it out. No, a lot. 00:29:56 Speaker 2: A lot of what happens this week will be things that we're talking about next spring, but most important, we've got Kruk and Kite. We want Kite to be a hundred percent and back when he's able and just take care of yourself. Kite, we love you. We just like, nobody cares about any of the other stuff except for that you get better. And of course, Mike Kruko, we adore you. What a, I mean, it's an honor, like just an honor to listen to him. I've been thrilled coming over to the Giants seven years ago. from the A's. That's the best part. I've said that over and over at 100%. The best part of moving over the Giants meant I could listen to Kruk and Kipe all the time. I wasn't busy covering another team and just a privilege. 00:30:39 Speaker 1: Kruk is like a psychiatrist. When you get done talking to him, you spend five minutes with him. I'll call him up to ask him some baseball question and we'll talk five or ten minutes and you hang up. You're feeling better. Whatever you talked about, he just made you feel better. Yeah. Made me rock on for a long time. And with that thought, let's close it out. And we'll be back, like, looks like Wednesday or Thursday with our next Splash Hit Territory podcast. And Susan, thanks for joining me again today. And we'll see you soon, everybody. Thanks for joining us.